by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of Realdawg.com.
The NFL Draft talk never ends, and we are here at Draft 412 in an effort to keep you ready for the next set of gridiron stars. From today until draft night 2024, we will bring you mocks, profiles, team needs, and everything else related to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Today’s Spotlight - Washington, Wide Receiver, Rome Odunze
Name- Rome Odunze
Pos- Wide Receiver
Team- Washington
HT/WT- 6’3” 211 lbs.
Born- 6/3/2002
Home – Las Vegas, NV
Rome Odunze was an exceptional sprinter and an all-state track and field star in high school. He won the state titles in the 200 meters and the 4x100 relay. In football, he won the 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year in Nevada and over his career, he collected 121 receptions for 2,699 yards and 31 touchdowns. He was listed by 247Sports as the #32 wide receiver in the nation.
Odunze played all 4 games in the shortened 2020 season and hauled in 6 catches for 72 yards. He played in 9 games, starting 7 of them during the 2021 season, and put up 41 receptions for 415 yards and 4 touchdowns. Odunze broke out in 2022 as the focus of the Huskies offense, grabbing 75 passes for 1,145 yards and 7 touchdowns. He was named All-Pac-12 first team, and third team All-American. Heading into the 2023 season, Odunze was named a preseason 2nd team All-American by Draft 412.
Odunze is an athlete who has the whole route tree at his disposal and has been used in all situations at Washington. He is a vertical threat who can beat you by foot or by fighting for a 50/50 ball. When passes are thrown away from him, he has incredible body control to make a bad throw a positive play. He has an explosive first step and runs precise routes. He has solid, strong hands and makes a habit of catching the ball away from his body. He is a threat after making a catch and has good open field vision.
For being a former sprinter, Odunze does not have elite straight line speed and may struggle to separate as easily at the NFL level. He struggles in press coverage and getting off the line against the more physical defender. And he is below average in run blocking, and doesn’t play a physical game.
When watching Odunze, he has a lot of the qualities that Cincinnati Bengals' Tyler Boyd has. Though Boyd is a much better blocker, Odunze’s ceiling could be Boyd in receiving numbers.
Strengths
Vertical threat
50/50 capability
Strong hands
Body control
Weaknesses
Elite speed
Blocking
Press Coverage
Physicality
Final Analysis
Washington has an NFL-caliber quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. and a top 20 team this season. Odunze will have a lot of eyes on him as he tries to break into that “top tier” of wide receivers.
Draft 412 Draft Prediction - 2nd or 3rd round